Chapter 169: Wen Leyu

In the economics department's activity room, a group of students preparing for the New Year's Eve gala were happily rehearsing.

In truth, the class's small gala was purely for fun, with no real pressure; everyone laughed and played around, completely ignoring the class committee's insistence that "this must be taken seriously."

Li Ye wrote a short skit script, divided the roles into separate parts, and handed them to the class president, Zhen Rongrong, and the youngest member, Sun Xianjin.

Sun Xianjin had received his script early and had already read it through completely, but the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt—his usually dignified face twisted into the shape of a shoe horn.

"Bro, my big bro, you're totally making me look bad—you've got to change this, turn me into a positive character."

"Where's the ugliness in this character?"

Li Ye said seriously, "Wearing a little cotton cap tilted to one side and a cotton jacket is for the sake of the performance—why are you suddenly so vain?"

"I'm not complaining about the clothes—I wouldn't mind performing shirtless—but how can I use my intelligence to cheat my fellow townspeople out of their noodles?"

Sun Xianjin exclaimed anxiously, "Look at your lines: 'I didn't eat the first bowl. I swapped the second bowl for the first one. Why should I pay?' Isn't that the behavior of a deceitful villain?"

Li Ye's "situation short play" was, in fact, the now-famous "sea cucumber fried noodles" from decades later.

Sun Xianjin, whose native dialect fit perfectly, was unquestionably chosen by Li Ye as the "lead" character who eats the noodles.

As for the other roles, Li Ye could only leave it to Zhen Rongrong to handle—since all the other characters in the skit were fooled by the lead, Li Ye worried that the prideful high-achievers wouldn't want to act.

But Li Ye hadn't expected that by giving Sun Xianjin the lead role and such a big part, he'd actually make him unhappy.

Li Ye held back a laugh and patiently advised, "Little brother, you need to look at this objectively. Even though we're just performing a short skit in class, it's still art."

"Art requires actors to devote themselves—you're playing a comedic role meant to bring joy to everyone."

"Besides, what's so ugly about this character? If you say that, then no one should ever play the villains in movies?"

Sun Xianjin looked deeply aggrieved, frowning for a long while before finally pouting, "No, bro, your script's just… too much."

"Slap!"

"You're doing it whether you like it or not."

Upon hearing Sun Xianjin say "too much," Li Ye immediately slammed the table.

That's the vibe!

Looking at Sun Xianjin's average height and listening to his resentful tone, Li Ye realized he'd accidentally hit the nail on the head—he'd found the right person.

But Li Ye's table slam drew the attention of everyone nearby, and the homeroom teacher, Mu Yunning, who had just entered through the door, narrowed her eyes at him.

"Li Ye, you've barely joined the class committee and you're already bullying your classmates? 'You've got to do it whether you like it or not'? Do I need to give you a lesson in moral education?"

"No, Teacher Mu," Li Ye replied calmly, undeterred by her sternness, "Sun Xianjin has misunderstood his role—I'm just explaining the reasoning behind it."

"Hmm, then I'd like to hear your reasoning."

Mu Yunning sat down opposite Li Ye and waited patiently for his explanation.

Li Ye didn't explain further—he simply handed the script to Mu Yunning: "Teacher, please read the script first. Sun Xianjin says the noodle customer is too deceitful and refuses to act, but I don't see anything wrong with it."

Mu Yunning glanced at Li Ye, then took the script and read it carefully.

After a moment, she asked curiously, "How did you know that some students at school were cheated by unscrupulous vendors at the train station when they went home this year?"

Li Ye didn't know—but he replied calmly, "I just noticed things on the streets have been a bit chaotic, so I wrote this script casually. But it ends with a kind misunderstanding—there are still more good people in this world."

The environment at the end of 1982 did have minor flaws; honest people still outnumbered the rest, but deceitful individuals were certainly not rare.

Outsiders were often overcharged for meals, and long-haul truck drivers were frequently extorted for exorbitant tire repair fees.

Those around them were stunned; Sun Xianjin felt a pang of guilt—he realized Li Ye had written a script reflecting reality and had patiently explained it to him, yet he'd misinterpreted it all along.

Mu Yunning thought for a moment and said, "Then let's rehearse it now and see how it turns out—who are the actors for this short play?"

Li Ye pushed Sun Xianjin forward. Mu Yunning had originally picked several people—all "laggards" who had refused to sign up for performances—and with herself, they made five.

Li Ye was deeply concerned about their performance—they were all awkward and hesitant; where was the comedic talent?

Sure enough, once rehearsal began, the five of them made constant mistakes—forgetting lines, bursting into laughter at the wrong moments.

But precisely this clumsy, bumbling performance created a perfect "nonsensical" effect, making everyone burst into laughter.

Especially Sun Xianjin's thick local accent, stumbling and full of comic charm, earned him waves of laughter and applause from classmates.

Mu Yunning, initially composed, managed to hold back her laughter at first—but soon she was laughing freely, shaking with mirth.

Li Ye glanced around at the boys in the class and noticed unusual expressions on their faces—he wondered if, years later, they'd feel any regret.

After Sun Xianjin and the others struggled through one full rehearsal, Mu Yunning made her decision.

"This short play is quite good. Get it polished quickly—it's going to compete for selection in the school's New Year's Eve gala."

Sun Xianjin and the others froze—the school gala meant performing in the auditorium, with so many spectators; just thinking about it made their legs tremble.

But then again, wasn't it also exciting?

After rehearsal ended that day, Sun Xianjin walked with Li Ye toward the cafeteria, muttering his lines as they went.

"Where's the sea cucumber? Did you eat it?"

"What the heck?"

Li Ye suddenly patted his younger brother on the shoulder and nodded toward the front.

Sun Xianjin immediately saw Bian Jingjing.

Bian Jingjing was simply too tall—1. 5 meters, taller than most boys at the time; impossible to miss.

"Little brother! I've created an opportunity for you—whether you succeed or not is up to you. Your big brother can only help you this far."

Sun Xianjin asked confusedly, "What opportunity? What did you help me with?"

Li Ye said, "Didn't I give you the chance to perform at the school gala?"

Sun Xianjin nodded. "Even though it's not confirmed yet, I feel our situation short play is better than those English skits—it should get selected, right?"

In the early 1980s, English was unquestionably the "king of popularity"; many departments and classes at Beijing University had rehearsed various English plays and held competitions.

From a modern perspective, this might be hard to understand—but if you watched films from the early 1980s, you'd get it.

In urban films of the time, to highlight a male lead's excellence, they'd have him learn and speak English.

Li Ye had once seen an old movie—he'd forgotten the title—whose plot was the classic poor boy wins the rich girl's heart.

The poor boy simply copied a few English sentences from a professor's book in the library, then started chatting, earned the professor's admiration, and ultimately won the professor's daughter's affection.

That wasn't unusual—but after winning the girl, the male lead turned to a street cleaner and ordinary people and said something Li Ye found utterly baffling: "Look, these people's time is so worthless!"

And in the end, the poor boy carried a homemade radio set up a mountain peak in the rain to "call out to the shadow" (aliens)—Li Ye found the whole thing deeply unsettling.

With such a cultural backdrop, English plays naturally had an advantage in popularity. Sun Xianjin had no real confidence that the economics department's "Sea Cucumber Fried Noodles" would be selected.

"Trust me, it'll definitely be selected," Li Ye said firmly. "Then invite Bian Jingjing to watch your performance, and talk about comedy afterward."

Sun Xianjin scratched his head. "Bro, will that even work? What if she thinks I'm not serious?"

"."

Li Ye fell silent for a few seconds, then asked, "Little brother, what kind of boy do girls like best?"

Sun Xianjin stared at Li Ye for a long time, his expression twisted with discomfort.

"Bro, I know you're good-looking and girls like you—but can you stop showing off in front of your little brother? I already admit it internally—do you really need me to say it out loud?"

"Am I really that vulgar?"

Li Ye laughed and scolded him, then cut straight to the point: "Girls prefer boys who are interesting."

"What's an interesting boy?"

"You were funny during rehearsal," Li Ye patiently guided. "If you can make Bian Jingjing laugh twice a day, your success rate will be twice as high as others'.

Of course, this still depends on fate—it's largely random. Even if you fail, there's no real loss—it's just something you can't force."

Sun Xianjin paused, and his eyes suddenly changed.

"Bro, I can do it. I absolutely can."

Every boy in his first love has this thought: "I've given you my whole heart—why won't you love me back?"

Sun Xianjin was no exception.

Inside the cafeteria, Li Ye parted ways with Sun Xianjin—he preferred to eat with Wen Leyu and disliked having acquaintances sit nearby and disturb him.

Besides, Sun Xianjin didn't want to sit next to Li Ye either—he'd get fed a whole bowl of dog food and be full before finishing his meal.

After the meal began, Wen Leyu quickly picked out the dishes she disliked from her bowl and moved them to Li Ye's, while Li Ye's dishes she liked vanished under her nimble chopsticks.

As they ate, they chatted idly, and soon the conversation turned to the New Year's Eve gala.

"Are you going to perform too, Xiao Yu?"

"Mmm, our class's English choir got selected—I'm the accompanying guitarist."

Li Ye was surprised. "You play guitar?"

Lately, Li Ye had seen many artistic youths playing guitar on the streets and around campus—but he had no idea Wen Leyu could play.

"Who doesn't have a little talent?" Wen Leyu nodded her head twice. "One of my mom's classmates is from the Fangdong Dance Troupe—they started studying Western music in the early 1960s, including guitar.

I studied for two years and then stopped; my finger technique's a bit rusty, but it's enough for simple music."

Li Ye said cheerfully, "Then teach me sometime—I want to learn guitar."

"Sure," the girl agreed promptly, then added, "But you have to teach me bayonet combat."

"."

Li Ye replied reluctantly, "If you want to learn bayonet combat, why not ask your dad? He's an expert too!"

"Mom won't let Dad teach me—she says I'll get into trouble," Wen Leyu pouted. "So he stopped teaching me. I argued with Mom twice and it didn't help."

"Then I can't teach you either—I'm scared of your mom."

Li Ye wisely declared.

But Wen Leyu immediately narrowed her eyes and showed two small teeth.

"You're scared of my mom—but not of me?"

"."

Being constantly exposed to something has its drawbacks.

Wen Leyu had been refined by Teacher Ke into an innate elegance, but similarly, some bad habits had also been unconsciously picked up.

"I'm just joking with you—I've told you before not to be afraid of me. You've got a terrible memory. If you want to teach, teach; if you don't, I can't force you."

Wen Leyu swiftly shifted her mood, smiling and explaining a few words, as if terrified that her momentary outburst of sternness might have damaged her image of gentleness in Li Ye's eyes.

"I'll teach you, I definitely will," Li Ye said indulgently. "But you'd better be prepared—practicing bayonet drills will calluses on your small hands."

Wen Leyu muttered happily, "Calluses? I've had them before."

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(End of chapter)